thresher

American  

[thresh-er] / ˈθrɛʃ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that threshes.

2. Also called thresher shark.  Also a large shark of the genus Alopias, especially A. vulpinus, which threshes the water with its long tail to drive together the small fish on which it feeds.

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thresher British  

/ ˈθrɛʃə /

noun

1. a person who threshes

2. short for threshing machine

3. Also called: thrasher.   thresher shark.  any of various large sharks of the genus Alopias, esp A. vulpinus, occurring in tropical and temperate seas: family Alopiidae. They have a very long whiplike tail with which they are thought to round up the small fish on which they feed

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Etymology

Origin of thresher

First recorded in 1350–1400, thresher is from the Middle English word thressher. See thresh, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Currently, 24 threatened species have international legal protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

From BBC

The bare and lonely fact of it made her feel like a solitary stalk of grass left waving forlornly in a field after the thresher had come and harvested all the rest for hay.

From Literature

Its rice was a finicky crop that sprouts slow, skinny and tall, with fewer grains per bunch, and heads that can sag below the reach of the thresher and end up in the mud.

From Los Angeles Times

Dr. Porter’s team could tell quite a few tales about what they had to do to obtain thresher shark vertebrae for their study.

From New York Times

Researchers found that the mineralized microarchitecture in thresher shark vertebrae changes in the front and the back of the body, and these anatomical modifications may support their unique tail-whipping behavior.

From Science Daily